Lens culinaris, the lentils plant, has many different names. The term “lentil” is a direct reference to the word “lens”, which not only references its botanical name but its shape. The legumes resemble small lenses.
Lentil crops are annually grown and belong to the Fabaceae plant family. The pods contain edible seeds, each pod producing at least two seeds that can be split if desired. The vine itself is quite slender with hairy, erect, branching stems.